Andrew P. Ingersoll
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691145044
- eISBN:
- 9781400848232
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691145044.003.0010
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Climate
This chapter focuses on the climates of Uranus, Neptune, and exoplanets. Uranus spins on its side, which allows a comparison between sunlight and rotation for their effects on weather patterns. In ...
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This chapter focuses on the climates of Uranus, Neptune, and exoplanets. Uranus spins on its side, which allows a comparison between sunlight and rotation for their effects on weather patterns. In contrast to Venus, Uranus is only weakly affcted by tides from the Sun because it is so far away. Models of planet accretion give a gradual clumping of small bodies into medium-sized bodies and then into large bodies, until finally only a few large bodies are left. The final collisions, which involved these large bodies, would have been quite violent and were capable of knocking Uranus on its side. After providing an overview of Uranus's rotation, insensitivity to seasonal cycles, and wind profile, the chapter considers Neptune's winds, effective radiating temperature, and Great Dark Spot. It also explains the radial velocity method and the transit method of detecting extrasolar planets.Less
This chapter focuses on the climates of Uranus, Neptune, and exoplanets. Uranus spins on its side, which allows a comparison between sunlight and rotation for their effects on weather patterns. In contrast to Venus, Uranus is only weakly affcted by tides from the Sun because it is so far away. Models of planet accretion give a gradual clumping of small bodies into medium-sized bodies and then into large bodies, until finally only a few large bodies are left. The final collisions, which involved these large bodies, would have been quite violent and were capable of knocking Uranus on its side. After providing an overview of Uranus's rotation, insensitivity to seasonal cycles, and wind profile, the chapter considers Neptune's winds, effective radiating temperature, and Great Dark Spot. It also explains the radial velocity method and the transit method of detecting extrasolar planets.
Sarbani Basu and William J. Chaplin
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691162928
- eISBN:
- 9781400888207
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691162928.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Particle Physics / Astrophysics / Cosmology
Studies of stars and stellar populations, and the discovery and characterization of exoplanets, are being revolutionized by new satellite and telescope observations of unprecedented quality and ...
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Studies of stars and stellar populations, and the discovery and characterization of exoplanets, are being revolutionized by new satellite and telescope observations of unprecedented quality and scope. Some of the most significant advances have been in the field of asteroseismology, the study of stars by observation of their oscillations. This book gives a comprehensive technical introduction to this discipline. It not only helps students and researchers learn about asteroseismology; it also serves as an essential instruction manual for those entering the field. The book presents readers with the foundational techniques used in the analysis and interpretation of asteroseismic data on cool stars that show solar-like oscillations. The techniques have been refined, and in some cases developed, to analyze asteroseismic data collected by the NASA Kepler mission. Topics range from the analysis of time-series observations to extract seismic data for stars to the use of those data to determine global and internal properties of the stars. Reading lists and problem sets are provided, and data necessary for the problem sets are available online.Less
Studies of stars and stellar populations, and the discovery and characterization of exoplanets, are being revolutionized by new satellite and telescope observations of unprecedented quality and scope. Some of the most significant advances have been in the field of asteroseismology, the study of stars by observation of their oscillations. This book gives a comprehensive technical introduction to this discipline. It not only helps students and researchers learn about asteroseismology; it also serves as an essential instruction manual for those entering the field. The book presents readers with the foundational techniques used in the analysis and interpretation of asteroseismic data on cool stars that show solar-like oscillations. The techniques have been refined, and in some cases developed, to analyze asteroseismic data collected by the NASA Kepler mission. Topics range from the analysis of time-series observations to extract seismic data for stars to the use of those data to determine global and internal properties of the stars. Reading lists and problem sets are provided, and data necessary for the problem sets are available online.
John Leonard
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199666553
- eISBN:
- 9780191748967
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199666553.003.0011
- Subject:
- Literature, 17th-century and Restoration Literature
This chapter traces the critical history that has given rise to the notion that Milton’s epic universe accords with the Ptolemaic system. Almost every editor since Newton (1749) has presented us with ...
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This chapter traces the critical history that has given rise to the notion that Milton’s epic universe accords with the Ptolemaic system. Almost every editor since Newton (1749) has presented us with a geocentric universe, and many modern editors equip that universe with solid spheres, usually with holes in the top to facilitate travel between heaven and earth. Milton’s own text gives very little warrant to this picture: just three lines in a satirical context. Early critics recognized that these lines were a joke and that Milton consigns Ptolemaic spheres to the Paradise of Fools. Early critics also recognized that the shell of Milton’s universe is not the Ptolemaic primum mobile, but a shield against Chaos that Milton took from Lucretius. This chapter argues that the early critics are right and tries to show exactly how and when the critical perception of Milton’s universe went wrong.Less
This chapter traces the critical history that has given rise to the notion that Milton’s epic universe accords with the Ptolemaic system. Almost every editor since Newton (1749) has presented us with a geocentric universe, and many modern editors equip that universe with solid spheres, usually with holes in the top to facilitate travel between heaven and earth. Milton’s own text gives very little warrant to this picture: just three lines in a satirical context. Early critics recognized that these lines were a joke and that Milton consigns Ptolemaic spheres to the Paradise of Fools. Early critics also recognized that the shell of Milton’s universe is not the Ptolemaic primum mobile, but a shield against Chaos that Milton took from Lucretius. This chapter argues that the early critics are right and tries to show exactly how and when the critical perception of Milton’s universe went wrong.
Sara Seager and Adolfo Plasencia
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780262036016
- eISBN:
- 9780262339308
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262036016.003.0003
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Technology and Society
Sara Seager, the pioneering astrophysicist, mathematician and planetary scientist reflects in this dialogue about how exoplanets, the purpose of her science, discovered her before she discovered ...
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Sara Seager, the pioneering astrophysicist, mathematician and planetary scientist reflects in this dialogue about how exoplanets, the purpose of her science, discovered her before she discovered them. She also explains her relationship with mathematics and why for her physics is the most beautiful way to describe the universe, as well as explaining the growing scientific interest to discover planets that orbit a star different to our sun. Later, Sara explains that all astrophysics projects she works on are very long term and is consequently concerned about whether there will be enough young people in this world of immediacy with sufficient patience to become astronomers. She also goes on to explain why life capable of travelling across galaxies will be non biological, as well as discussing how, and with what help, she is facing the greatest challenge of her life: trying to find another Earth, in other words, another planet like Earth with signs of life.Less
Sara Seager, the pioneering astrophysicist, mathematician and planetary scientist reflects in this dialogue about how exoplanets, the purpose of her science, discovered her before she discovered them. She also explains her relationship with mathematics and why for her physics is the most beautiful way to describe the universe, as well as explaining the growing scientific interest to discover planets that orbit a star different to our sun. Later, Sara explains that all astrophysics projects she works on are very long term and is consequently concerned about whether there will be enough young people in this world of immediacy with sufficient patience to become astronomers. She also goes on to explain why life capable of travelling across galaxies will be non biological, as well as discussing how, and with what help, she is facing the greatest challenge of her life: trying to find another Earth, in other words, another planet like Earth with signs of life.
Nicholas Mee
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780198831860
- eISBN:
- 9780191869785
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198831860.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Particle Physics / Astrophysics / Cosmology, History of Physics
The Cosmic Mystery Tour is a brief account of modern physics and astronomy presented in a broad historical and cultural context. The book is attractively illustrated and aimed at the general reader. ...
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The Cosmic Mystery Tour is a brief account of modern physics and astronomy presented in a broad historical and cultural context. The book is attractively illustrated and aimed at the general reader. Part I explores the laws of physics including general relativity, the structure of matter, quantum mechanics and the Standard Model of particle physics. It discusses recent discoveries such as gravitational waves and the project to construct LISA, a space-based gravitational wave detector, as well as unresolved issues such as the nature of dark matter. Part II begins by considering cosmology, the study of the universe as a whole and how we arrived at the theory of the Big Bang and the expanding universe. It looks at the remarkable objects within the universe such as red giants, white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes, and considers the expected discoveries from new telescopes such as the Extremely Large Telescope in Chile, and the Event Horizon Telescope, currently aiming to image the supermassive black hole at the galactic centre. Part III considers the possibility of finding extraterrestrial life, from the speculations of science fiction authors to the ongoing search for alien civilizations known as SETI. Recent developments are discussed: space probes to the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn; the discovery of planets in other star systems; the citizen science project SETI@Home; Breakthrough Starshot, the project to develop technologies to send spacecraft to the stars. It also discusses the Fermi paradox which argues that we might actually be alone in the cosmosLess
The Cosmic Mystery Tour is a brief account of modern physics and astronomy presented in a broad historical and cultural context. The book is attractively illustrated and aimed at the general reader. Part I explores the laws of physics including general relativity, the structure of matter, quantum mechanics and the Standard Model of particle physics. It discusses recent discoveries such as gravitational waves and the project to construct LISA, a space-based gravitational wave detector, as well as unresolved issues such as the nature of dark matter. Part II begins by considering cosmology, the study of the universe as a whole and how we arrived at the theory of the Big Bang and the expanding universe. It looks at the remarkable objects within the universe such as red giants, white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes, and considers the expected discoveries from new telescopes such as the Extremely Large Telescope in Chile, and the Event Horizon Telescope, currently aiming to image the supermassive black hole at the galactic centre. Part III considers the possibility of finding extraterrestrial life, from the speculations of science fiction authors to the ongoing search for alien civilizations known as SETI. Recent developments are discussed: space probes to the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn; the discovery of planets in other star systems; the citizen science project SETI@Home; Breakthrough Starshot, the project to develop technologies to send spacecraft to the stars. It also discusses the Fermi paradox which argues that we might actually be alone in the cosmos
Karel Schrijver
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- July 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198799894
- eISBN:
- 9780191864865
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198799894.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Geophysics, Atmospheric and Environmental Physics, History of Physics
Illustrated with breathtaking images of the Solar System and of the Universe around it, this book explores how the discoveries within the Solar System and of distant exoplanets come together to aid ...
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Illustrated with breathtaking images of the Solar System and of the Universe around it, this book explores how the discoveries within the Solar System and of distant exoplanets come together to aid understanding of the habitability of Earth, and how this guides the search for exoplanets that could support life. The author recounts how, within two decades of the discovery of the first planets outside the Solar System in the 1990s, scientists concluded that planets are so common that most stars are orbited by them. The twelve chapters highlight what we have learned about exoplanets and how the lives of exoplanets and their stars are inextricably interwoven. Stars are the seeds around which planetary systems form. Stars provide their planets with light and warmth for as long as they shine. At the end of their lives, stars expel massive amounts of newly forged elements into deep space. That ejected material is incorporated into subsequent generations of planets. How do we learn about these distant worlds? What does the exploration of other planets tell us about the history of Earth? Can we find out what the distant future may have in store for us? What do we know about exoworlds and starbirth, and where do migrating hot Jupiters, polluted white dwarfs, and free-roaming nomad planets fit in? What does all that have to do with the habitability of Earth and the possibility of finding extraterrestrial life? And how did the globe-spanning network of the sciences begin to answer all these questions?Less
Illustrated with breathtaking images of the Solar System and of the Universe around it, this book explores how the discoveries within the Solar System and of distant exoplanets come together to aid understanding of the habitability of Earth, and how this guides the search for exoplanets that could support life. The author recounts how, within two decades of the discovery of the first planets outside the Solar System in the 1990s, scientists concluded that planets are so common that most stars are orbited by them. The twelve chapters highlight what we have learned about exoplanets and how the lives of exoplanets and their stars are inextricably interwoven. Stars are the seeds around which planetary systems form. Stars provide their planets with light and warmth for as long as they shine. At the end of their lives, stars expel massive amounts of newly forged elements into deep space. That ejected material is incorporated into subsequent generations of planets. How do we learn about these distant worlds? What does the exploration of other planets tell us about the history of Earth? Can we find out what the distant future may have in store for us? What do we know about exoworlds and starbirth, and where do migrating hot Jupiters, polluted white dwarfs, and free-roaming nomad planets fit in? What does all that have to do with the habitability of Earth and the possibility of finding extraterrestrial life? And how did the globe-spanning network of the sciences begin to answer all these questions?
Nicholas Mee
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780198831860
- eISBN:
- 9780191869785
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198831860.003.0022
- Subject:
- Physics, Particle Physics / Astrophysics / Cosmology, History of Physics
Many exoplanets have been discovered in recent years by searching for regular dips in brightness of a star as a planet passes across its face. NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope was launched to search for ...
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Many exoplanets have been discovered in recent years by searching for regular dips in brightness of a star as a planet passes across its face. NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope was launched to search for exoplanets using this planetary transit method. Kepler monitors 145,000 stars and has so far discovered over 2500 exoplanets. The planetary transit method has also been used to find a family of seven planets around a nearby red dwarf star that has been named TRAPPIST-1.Less
Many exoplanets have been discovered in recent years by searching for regular dips in brightness of a star as a planet passes across its face. NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope was launched to search for exoplanets using this planetary transit method. Kepler monitors 145,000 stars and has so far discovered over 2500 exoplanets. The planetary transit method has also been used to find a family of seven planets around a nearby red dwarf star that has been named TRAPPIST-1.
Nicholas Mee
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780198831860
- eISBN:
- 9780191869785
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198831860.003.0025
- Subject:
- Physics, Particle Physics / Astrophysics / Cosmology, History of Physics
Frank Drake devised the Drake equation to estimate the number of advanced civilizations in the galaxy with the aim of gathering support for SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). The ...
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Frank Drake devised the Drake equation to estimate the number of advanced civilizations in the galaxy with the aim of gathering support for SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). The earliest attempts to detect radio signals from extraterrestrials date back to the 1960s. Paul Allen has funded the Allen Telescope, Array which is dedicated to searching for such signals. When complete it will include 350 radio dishes. The citizen science project SETI@Home allows anyone with a home PC to participate in analysing the data amassed by the SETI project.Less
Frank Drake devised the Drake equation to estimate the number of advanced civilizations in the galaxy with the aim of gathering support for SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). The earliest attempts to detect radio signals from extraterrestrials date back to the 1960s. Paul Allen has funded the Allen Telescope, Array which is dedicated to searching for such signals. When complete it will include 350 radio dishes. The citizen science project SETI@Home allows anyone with a home PC to participate in analysing the data amassed by the SETI project.
Karel Schrijver
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- July 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198799894
- eISBN:
- 9780191864865
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198799894.003.0004
- Subject:
- Physics, Geophysics, Atmospheric and Environmental Physics, History of Physics
This chapter highlights the amazing diversity of exoplanet worlds: planets can orbit neutron stars and giant stars, evaporate in the heat of their stars or have deep oceans, and may suffer from ...
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This chapter highlights the amazing diversity of exoplanet worlds: planets can orbit neutron stars and giant stars, evaporate in the heat of their stars or have deep oceans, and may suffer from everlasting daysides and nightsides. A few enjoy two or more suns, and some bear a rough similarity to Earth with possible liquid water on their surface. The author describes how exoplanets reveal themselves through signatures in the light of their stars. The first exoplanets were found in unexpected places, but after determining where exoplanets could or could not be spotted with current detection methods, intrinsic statistical properties emerged. Some are in line with the Solar System, but many are not. What is clear is that exoplanets are more numerous than the stars in our Galaxy.Less
This chapter highlights the amazing diversity of exoplanet worlds: planets can orbit neutron stars and giant stars, evaporate in the heat of their stars or have deep oceans, and may suffer from everlasting daysides and nightsides. A few enjoy two or more suns, and some bear a rough similarity to Earth with possible liquid water on their surface. The author describes how exoplanets reveal themselves through signatures in the light of their stars. The first exoplanets were found in unexpected places, but after determining where exoplanets could or could not be spotted with current detection methods, intrinsic statistical properties emerged. Some are in line with the Solar System, but many are not. What is clear is that exoplanets are more numerous than the stars in our Galaxy.
Karel Schrijver
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- July 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198799894
- eISBN:
- 9780191864865
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198799894.003.0009
- Subject:
- Physics, Geophysics, Atmospheric and Environmental Physics, History of Physics
The landscapes of exoplanets are likely to be incredibly diverse: exoplanets come in a large range of sizes and masses, and therefore surface gravities. Atmospheres can be thick layers, or absent. ...
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The landscapes of exoplanets are likely to be incredibly diverse: exoplanets come in a large range of sizes and masses, and therefore surface gravities. Atmospheres can be thick layers, or absent. The interior makeup of exoplanets is even harder to know, but the formation scenarios of the giant planets and the remains of planets found in white-dwarf atmospheres provide insights. All that knowledge, combined with information on the central stars and other exoplanets within a system, provides a view of past, present, and future environments. This chapter reviews sample exoplanets and the conditions on their surfaces.Less
The landscapes of exoplanets are likely to be incredibly diverse: exoplanets come in a large range of sizes and masses, and therefore surface gravities. Atmospheres can be thick layers, or absent. The interior makeup of exoplanets is even harder to know, but the formation scenarios of the giant planets and the remains of planets found in white-dwarf atmospheres provide insights. All that knowledge, combined with information on the central stars and other exoplanets within a system, provides a view of past, present, and future environments. This chapter reviews sample exoplanets and the conditions on their surfaces.
Karel Schrijver
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- July 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198799894
- eISBN:
- 9780191864865
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198799894.003.0010
- Subject:
- Physics, Geophysics, Atmospheric and Environmental Physics, History of Physics
The author takes us to visit Saturn’s moon Titan, and Venus, Mars, and to the unconfirmed planet GJ581d. Although we find unearthly conditions on these bodies’ surfaces today, things were different ...
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The author takes us to visit Saturn’s moon Titan, and Venus, Mars, and to the unconfirmed planet GJ581d. Although we find unearthly conditions on these bodies’ surfaces today, things were different in the past. Even now, there are oceans deep below Titan’s frozen ice shell that itself sees liquid methane rains and vast ethane-filled lakes. Venus and Mars both had liquid water long ago, while Venus may even have been comfortably warm and humid before modern complex life developed on Earth. Many potentially habitable exoplanets are likely locked in their rotation to always face their star with the same side, causing incredible differences between their day and night sides. This chapter reviews how oceans and atmospheres are lost by the Sun’s magnetism or protected by that of the planets’, how masses of carbon dioxide can be stored in solid limestone, and how habitable zones shift to and from planets.Less
The author takes us to visit Saturn’s moon Titan, and Venus, Mars, and to the unconfirmed planet GJ581d. Although we find unearthly conditions on these bodies’ surfaces today, things were different in the past. Even now, there are oceans deep below Titan’s frozen ice shell that itself sees liquid methane rains and vast ethane-filled lakes. Venus and Mars both had liquid water long ago, while Venus may even have been comfortably warm and humid before modern complex life developed on Earth. Many potentially habitable exoplanets are likely locked in their rotation to always face their star with the same side, causing incredible differences between their day and night sides. This chapter reviews how oceans and atmospheres are lost by the Sun’s magnetism or protected by that of the planets’, how masses of carbon dioxide can be stored in solid limestone, and how habitable zones shift to and from planets.
Karel Schrijver
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- July 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198799894
- eISBN:
- 9780191864865
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198799894.003.0011
- Subject:
- Physics, Geophysics, Atmospheric and Environmental Physics, History of Physics
How many planetary systems formed before our’s did, and how many will form after? How old is the average exoplanet in the Galaxy? When did the earliest planets start forming? How different are the ...
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How many planetary systems formed before our’s did, and how many will form after? How old is the average exoplanet in the Galaxy? When did the earliest planets start forming? How different are the ages of terrestrial and giant planets? And, ultimately, what will the fate be of our Solar System, of the Milky Way Galaxy, and of the Universe around us? We cannot know the fate of individual exoplanets with great certainty, but based on population statistics this chapter sketches the past, present, and future of exoworlds and of our Earth in general terms.Less
How many planetary systems formed before our’s did, and how many will form after? How old is the average exoplanet in the Galaxy? When did the earliest planets start forming? How different are the ages of terrestrial and giant planets? And, ultimately, what will the fate be of our Solar System, of the Milky Way Galaxy, and of the Universe around us? We cannot know the fate of individual exoplanets with great certainty, but based on population statistics this chapter sketches the past, present, and future of exoworlds and of our Earth in general terms.
